Government will consider public interest in releasing Lebedev advice
No 10 said the Government would respond in due course.
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Your support makes all the difference.The Government will need to consider whether the release of information surrounding the ennobling of Evgeny Lebedev is in the public interest, Downing Street has said.
MPs voted earlier this week to approve a Labour motion to force the Government to release documents about Boris Johnsonās involvement in the appointment of the media mogul to the house of Lords, following concerns about security advice.
The Russian-born businessman insisted he had ānothing to hideā amid the row, in which Labour called on Cabinet Office minister Steve Barclay to release all relevant information provided to the House of Lords Appointments Commission (HOLAC) by the Cabinet Office or the Prime Ministerās office by no later than April 28.
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Lord Lebedev, who is a shareholder of the Independent, joined the House of Lords in November 2020 and has been described as a friend of Mr Johnson.
But questions have been raised over whether or not the Prime Minister asked anyone in the security services to revise, reconsider or withdraw their assessment of Lord Lebedev ahead of his appointment.
The independent crossbench peer has previously acknowledged his father, oligarch Alexander Lebedev, was āa long time agoā a KGB officer but denied being āa security risk to this countryā.
The Prime Ministerās official spokesman was asked on Thursday how the information would be released, following backing in the Commons.
He said: āSo I think as (Cabinet Office minister) Michael Ellis said on this motion, we need to obviously consider the responsibility of ministers not to release information where disclosure would not be in the public interest, and obviously weigh it up against the need for transparency and openness.
āSo we are considering that motion and weāll respond in due course.ā
Asked whose responsibility it was to decide if it would be in the public interest, the spokesman said: āI believe it rests with the Government.ā
Mr Ellis said disclosing the information requested by Labour would āundermine the very roleā of the House of Lords Appointments Commission.